Tribeca festival

EXCLUSIVE : Gravitas Ventures has acquired U.S. rights to the 2022 SXSW award winner The Pez Outlaw , from directors Amy Bandlien Storkel and Bryan Storkel , with plans for a day-and-date release on October 21. The fish-out-of-water story follows the adventures of Steve Glew, a small-town Michigan man, who boards a plane for Eastern Europe soon after the fall of the Berlin Wall. His mission is to locate a secret factory that holds the key to the most desired and valuable Pez dispensers. If he succeeds, he will pull his family out of debt and finally be able to quit his job of 25 years. Steve becomes the hero of his own adventure, smuggling the rarest of goods into the U.S. and making millions in the process. It was all magical, until his arch-nemesis, The Pezident, decided to destroy him. The Pez Outlaw made its world premiere at this year’s SXSW Film Festival, claiming its Special Jury Prize before going on to claim the Adrienne Shelly Foundation Excellence … [Read more...] about SXSW Documentary ‘The Pez Outlaw’ Acquired By Gravitas Ventures

EXCLUSIVE : Sidney Flanigan ( Never Rarely Sometimes Always ), Frederick Weller ( BlacKkKlansman ), D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai ( Reservation Doggs ) and Will Ropp ( The Greatest Beer Run Ever ) will topline the indie thriller Only the Good Survive , from writer-director Dutch Southern , which has wrapped production. The film picks up with Brea Dunlee (Flanigan) following a heist gone wrong resulting in the deaths of three of her friends, as she finds herself in the custody of the small-town sheriff Cole Mack (Weller), who may be hiding just as many secrets as her. The only thing for certain is only one of them will survive. Darius Fraser ( The Chair ), Lachlan Watson ( Chilling Adventures of Sabrina ) and Jon Gries ( The White Lotus ) also star in the film being eyed for a 2023 release. Thomas Mahoney ( Wild Indian ) and Justin X. Duprie ( Bad Turn Worse ) are producing, with Brian Udovich ( Bad Turn Worse , The Wackness ), Renn Vera and … [Read more...] about Sidney Flanigan, Frederick Weller, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai & Will Ropp To Topline Indie Thriller ‘Only The Good Survive’

EXCLUSIVE: UTA has expanded its relationship with multi-hyphenate Machine Gun Kelly , otherwise known as Colson Baker, and will now represent him worldwide in all areas. UTA will continue to help build on the artist’s impressive career across a range of business verticals, including film and television, among other areas. In film and television, he acts under his real name Colson Baker. As Baker, stars in the upcoming feature film Taurus , which had its US premiere at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival following its global premiere at the Berlin Film Festival and the upcoming One Way with Kevin Bacon and Storm Reid. He also caught the eye of studio execs when he played, Tommy Lee in Netflix’s Motley Crue biopic The Dirt and appeared in two of Netflix’s 10 Most Watched films of all time ( Bird Box and Project Power ). His other credits include Cameron Crowe’s Roadies , The Last Son with Sam Worthington, Judd Apatow’s The King of Staten Island , Gina … [Read more...] about Machine Gun Kelly Expands Relationship With UTA Adding Agency As Reps For Film & Television

Hot horror author Philip Fracassi ’s short story, Death, My Old Friend, has been optioned by director Christopher Riggert for his feature directing debut. Terms were not disclosed. In Fracassi’s short story, a boy sparks an unlikely relationship with the personification of Death. As they grow older, and Death begins taking those closest to him, he is forced to question the sinister nature of their friendship. Fracassi is the author of the award-winning story collection, Behold the Void , and his latest collection, Beneath a Pale Sky, was recently nominated for a Bram Stroker award. His upcoming novels include A Child Alone with Strangers (Skyhorse) and Gothic (Cemetery Dance). He recently closed a two-book, six-figure deal with Tor Nightfire, an imprint of Macmillan, the first release of which will be the novel Boys in the Valley (Summer 2023). As a screenwriter, Fracassi’s films have been distributed by Lifetime Movie Network and Disney … [Read more...] about Horror Author Philip Fracassi Story Optioned For Feature Film Debut

EXCLUSIVE: The Michael Doneger directed documentary Fate of a Sport, which ESPN acquired ahead of the pic’s Tribeca Film Festival world premiere, will drop on ESPN+ on Aug. 29. The docu chronicles the story of lacrosse legend Paul Rabil and his fight to change the trajectory of the sport he loves by launching a new professional league, the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). After 11 years as one of the most decorated players within a professional lacrosse league that was anything but professional, Rabil decides to create his own league of the sport that made him a star. In partnership with his brother Mike, Paul raises capital, poaches the top players, fights off lawsuits, and navigates through a global pandemic to establish the PLL as the premiere destination for professional lacrosse in the country. The docu features original interviews with the Rabils, Jeffrey Wright, Adam Silver, Bill Belichick, Peter Berg, Joe Tsai and Lyle Thompson. Fate of a Sport will have its … [Read more...] about ‘Fate Of A Sport’: ESPN Films Sets Streaming & Broadcast Dates For Lacrosse Documentary

The publication of Heat 2 this week marks writer-director Michael Mann ’s debut as a novelist, expands the mythology of perhaps his most beloved film, and becomes the first major release of the publishing imprint he set at William Morrow six years ago. From the TV series Miami Vice and Crime Story to his feature debut Thief , to the Tom Cruise-Jamie Foxx thriller Collateral and the 1995 Al Pacino - Robert De Niro drama classic Heat , Mann’s crime procedurals are informed by an intimate knowledge of cops and robbers that breathes life and multi-dimensional characters with empathy to go with the violence in lawbreaking. That is the same thing that Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo did with The Godfather films, David Chase for his The Sopranos series, and Martin Scorsese for Goodfellas and Casino , the other crime high-water marks of the last half century. What is interesting here is the difference in how Mann got there as opposed to those other … [Read more...] about As His First Novel ‘Heat 2’ Hits Shelves, Michael Mann Shares Great Crime Stories

Getty Taylor Swift may be making a run at an EGOT, because she's apparently gunning for an Oscar during this award season ... all over her short film, which qualifies. The singer's 14-minute video treatment -- which is part music video and film, starring Sadie Sink and Dylan O'Brien -- is eligible to be nominated for an Academy Award at the 95th annual ceremony next year ... in the Best Live Action Short, no less, according to THR . The outlet reports TayTay and co. are actually consulting with a firm to guide the awards campaign -- so yeah, it seems she/the team behind the film do, in fact, want it considered. There's more though ... THR says the short film might've actually been up for Best Picture, technically, had it come out in 2022 -- but because it was released in late 2021, it misses that window ... although, Best Short is still in play. 'ATW' was screened in an AMC theater in Lincoln Square for a week straight last year, and because of that ... … [Read more...] about Taylor Swift’s ‘All Too Well’ Short Film Qualifies for Oscar Consideration

EXCLUSIVE : Neal McDonough ( The Flash ) and Casey Cott ( Riverdale ) will headline the sports drama Black Spartans , written and to be directed by Ben Cory Jones ( Insecure ), which is heading into production in Atlanta this fall. Exploring the explosive era of the mid-1960s where social upheaval paved the way for a new order in college football, Jones’ first feature tells the story of the first fully integrated college football team. The film is inspired by the Michigan State Spartans team, coached by Duffy Daugherty, which forever changed the face of the sport. Jones, McDonough, Cott, David Brown, Rochelle Claerbaut, Ruve McDonough, Justin Oates-Marable and Jimmy V are producing, with Cory Wharton serving as exec producer. McDonough is an award-winning actor whose film credits include Sonic the Hedgehog , Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City , RED 2 , Captain America: The First Avenger , Flags of Our Fathers and more. On the TV side, he … [Read more...] about Neal McDonough & ‘Riverdale’s Casey Cott Set For Ben Cory Jones’ Football Drama ‘Black Spartans’

EXCLUSIVE: Through its first-look film deal at Universal Pictures, 87North has set up Mrs. K , a re-imagining of Yuhang Ho’s 2016 Malaysian-Hong Kong cult hit, at the studio. Author and humorist Mishna Wolff , best known for her memoir, I’m Down , is set to write the screenplay. Her debut script for the film Werewolves Within, which made its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival followed by Berlin, was met with critical acclaim when it was released theatrically by IFC last year. Mrs. K is a fast-paced, darkly humorous action movie featuring an unlikely heroine. Mrs. K’s peaceful life is disrupted, and family threatened, when trouble brews. Producers are 87North’s Kelly McCormick and David Leitch. EPs are Paperheart Limited’s Yuhang Ho and Lorna Tee, and Conor Zorn. Universal EVP of Production Jay Polidoro will oversee the project for the studio. Guy Danella and Max Jacoby will oversee for 87North. 87North has had the No. 1 film over the last … [Read more...] about 87North Sets ‘Mrs. K’ At Universal; Mishna Wolff Writing

EXCLUSIVE : Alice Lee ( Our Man from Jersey ) is set to co-produce and star in the darkly comedic thriller Samson , from director Ruth Du ( The Deadliest Lie ). She’ll be joined in the indie’s ensemble by Will Brittain ( Blow the Man Down ), Emilio Garcia Sanchez ( The Society ) and newcomer Ryan Dance . The film written by Du and David Harry Yoon follows a recently broken up couple (Lee and Dance) who are forced to work together when they are kidnapped by two masked men (Brittain and Sanchez). Pic’s producers are Ashlee Cohen and Claire Brooks. Lee recently wrapped a role alongside Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry in Netflix’s action-thriller Our Man from Jersey , and previously shared the screen with Jillian Bell in Amazon’s Brittany Runs a Marathon , which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. The actress was most recently seen on the TV side in a recurring role on NBC’s Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist , subsequently reprising her part for … [Read more...] about ‘Our Man From Jersey’s Alice Lee To Co-Produce & Star In Comedic Thriller ‘Samson’ From Director Ruth Du